HOLD ON TO ME (CAROLINA CLASSICS #2)

 

Hold On To Me (Carolina Classics #2)

Fans of 1990's shows like Dawson's Creek and Mad About You will love this throwback romantic comedy.

After a devastating accident at sea, the only job Sullivan Calloway can get is one that few have survived.

If time and tide wait for no man, neither does Helen O'Neill. She's spent years forging her own path in the movie business. The young hunk she's hired to replace her latest assistant to leave in tears may be a sight for sore eyes, but expectations will not be lowered. If he can’t do the work, he’ll be out on his very fine behind.

If only her heart would get the memo.

Don't miss this slow-burn, boss-assistant, entertainment biz romance from USA Today bestselling author Karen Grey.

Audiobook Release Date: March 9, 2023

Audiobook review copy provided by publisher

Home Cooked Books

Carolina Classics #2

Retro/Nostalgia Romance

Narrators: JF Harding & MacKenzie Cartwright

Listening Speed: 1.4x

Liza's Review:

Hold On To Me is the second book in the Carolina Classics series by Karen Grey. I am a huge fan of the nostalgia romances Ms. Grey writes, and Hold On To Me was another winner in my book.

I’ve wanted to know more about Sully from the moment he first appeared on the page. We met Sully and his friends in You Get What You Give. Sully is in a boating accident, and must find a job until he recovers enough to work on set again. The only job available it assistant to Helen O’Neill, who has already run off multiple assistants, with production starting very soon. Sully feels instant attraction to his boss from day one, and I loved the chemistry between them from the moment they meet.

Let me just say, I absolutely loved how strong Helen is over the entire story. Yes, she has had some rough times in the past, and she fights her attraction to Sully because of something in her past. I loved when they both finally gave into their attraction. OMG they had the best chemistry!!! I liked they really seemed to get one another, even with the age gap between them. Loved Helen is 10 years older than Sully, and yet, they just seemed to work as a couple for me. I think part of it was because Sully truly has an old soul, but most was because Helen never treated him like he was less of a person for being so much younger than her. They worked well both at work and in their relationship.

I thought the audiobook narrators did a fantastic job with this story. Both narrators were spot on with all the different character voices, and I felt like there was a seamless transition between narrators. There were many emotional parts to Hold On To Me, and I felt like the narrators delivered on every single emotion.

Hold On To Me is a fun story that takes the reader back to the late 90’s. I loved all the nods to things from the past, and can’t wait to read the next book in this series. I love the group of friends that is at the center of each story, and can’t wait to read more.

Rating: 4 Stars (B+)

TURN UP THE HEAT (PINE MOUNTAIN #1)

 Ingredients:

One big-city real estate analyst who gets dumped on national TV
One small-town mechanic with a past he wants to keep in his rearview mirror
One weekend getaway thwarted by a broken down car, a boss that makes Atilla the Hun look like a lapdog, and the snowstorm of the century

Mix well and add a whole lot of sparks under the hood.

Serve with a side of adversaries to lovers, opposites attract, sexy banter, and sizzling heat in both the kitchen and the bedroom.
*****

Turn Up The Heat is an updated, spicier version of the first full-length Pine Mountain novel that was originally published in 2014.

Re-release Date: February 7, 2023

Pine Mountain #1

Contemporary Romance

Review copy provided by publisher

Liza's Review:

Turn Up the Heat is the first full length story in Kimberly Kincaid's Pine Mountain series. I missed this series when it was originally released, and am really enjoying the updated re-issued books so far. Turn Up the Heat is Bellamy Blake and Shane Griffin's book, and was a fun and sexy read.

Bellamy's day starts off with finding out her boyfriend is moving across the country for a job without discussing anything with her, and ends with her car broken down on the side of the road. Luckily, super sexy mechanic Shane is there to help her out. Shane and Bellamy's initial meeting was kinda funny, and I loved I could tell they were attracted to one another from the very first. 

Bellamy has the boss from hell, and being stranded at a resort in Pine Mountain with limited cell reception was really just what the doctor ordered, even if Bellamy didn't see it clearly at first. She gets to unplug a bit and spend time cooking for her friends and Shane. Buying and preparing food really is Bellamy's love language, and I loved she was so happy when she was in Pine Mountain.

Shane has a secret he hasn't really shared with anyone, and that includes Bellamy, even when their relationship goes from new friends to lovers. They have off the charts chemistry, and the two of them together could absolutely melt the snow covering Pine Mountain...seriously smoking hot times between these two for sure! As Bellamy had just come from a relationship with a man who kept her in the dark about his plans, I totally got Bellamy feeling betrayed by Shane for keeping her in the dark, even though they had only been together for a short time.

Turn Up the Heat is another winner from Kimberly Kincaid. I'm really loving the Pine Mountain series, and think it's absolutely perfect for fans of funny and sexy contemporary romances. 

Rating: 4 Stars ( B+)

JUST ANOTHER SPARK (KINGSTON FAMILY #7.5)

He’s a rock star wanted by millions.

She’s a wife willing to fight for their love. 

Rock star Dash Kingston is finishing the last leg of his band’s U.S. tour. Exhausted and ready to be home, he can’t wait to see his girl. Time zones, show times, and the demands of his career have made married life harder than expected. Even knowing the rock star life wouldn’t make their relationship easy.

Cassidy Kingston thought she was ready to handle being married to a man idolized by women everywhere. She believes in their love even though the separations when the band is on tour can be torture. But the paparazzi and media don’t make their time apart easier and the gossip headlines hit her harder than they should. She trusts her husband even if she misses him like crazy.

When rumors surface that Dash is seeing someone, what’s a girl to do? Surprise her husband and remind him of what he’s been missing. Except you know what they say about the best laid plans.

Stands alone but if you want to read Dash and Cassidy’s full story:

Just One Spark

Release Date: January 17, 2023

CP Publishing

Kingston Family #7.5

Contemporary Romance

Review copy provided by publisher

Liza’s Review:

Just Another Spark was freaking amazing! I loved Cassidy’s and Dash’s story, and was super excited to get to spend more time with them. Life has kept Dash and Cassidy apart lately. Dash is on tour with his band, and Cassidy is working with the production company almost around the clock. They are missing each other at every turn, yet their love is as strong as ever. Just Another Spark had me laughing out loud more than once, and had all the super sexy times I’ve come to love from Carly Phillips. While this story was novella length, the story was filled with all the emotions, and I loved every moment of this fully developed story.

I adore getting to revisit couples to see where they are in the lives now, and Just Another Spark was the perfect update for Dash and Cassidy. 

Rating: 5 stars (A+)

INDECENT PROPOSAL (INDECENT SERIES #1)

It wasn’t every day that I was shot at by a sniper. But this was now my life, being hunted by someone my (dead) ex-fiancé had crossed. They thought I had something he’d taken, and they weren’t going to stop until they had what they wanted.

I went to the best security company around, but what I ended up with was a bodyguard who was as hot and tempting as he was grumpy and annoyingly bossy. Vaughn reluctantly took me on as a client, despite my inability to pay, and put me in his own personal safehouse with a set of rules to follow.

But a few of those rules? Yeah, I broke them just because I knew it would provoke him. What I didn’t anticipate was the kind of punishment he decided to dole out . . . and it wasn’t long before we went from enemies, to lovers, and an indecent proposal was struck between us.

We both swore it was all temporary, but the closer Vaughn gets to finding out who is after me and why, I realize walking away from this man might be much harder than I’d ever imagined.

Release Date: January 19, 2023

Indecent Series #1

Romantic Suspense

Review copy provided by publisher

Liza’s Review:

Indecent Proposal is a fantastic start to the Indecent series by Erika Wilde! Claire Turner and Vaughn Hughes meet when Claire needs to hire Vaughn’s company Elite Protection and Consulting when she has someone after her following her ex’s death. Vaughan is willing to let Claire leave without hearing her sob story, until a snippet attack while in is secure office. Since Claire can’t pay for Vaughn’s services, he decides to keep it off the books and takes her to his personal safe house.

The suspense elements in Indecent Proposal were done so very well. I was kept guessing who the sniper was that had taken a shot at Claire until the actual reveal. I love when an author can keep me guessing about the who done it so much. Ms. Wilde did an amazing job keeping me guessing, and was honestly a bit shocked at the answer.

The chemistry between Vaughn and Claire was apparent from the moment they laid eyes on each other. Let me just say their banter and digs just made for an even hotter story than I was expecting. Seriously majorly smoking hot times between Claire and Vaughn. Vaughn is a dominant, and Claire is super feisty and not a meek woman at all. She tests Vaughn at every single turn, and it was so sexy to see them find the right balance in their relationship. I loved that Vaughn really got Claire in a way no other man had understood before; not even her former fiancée.

Indecent Proposal was a fantastic story! I loved getting to know Vaughn and Claire and following their journey from strangers to lovers. I can’t wait to read the stories for Vaughn’s other two partners! 

Rating: 5 Stars (B+) 

GOOD GIRL FAIL

 From the New York Times bestselling author of the Loving on the Edge and the Say Anything series comes a new steamy standalone MMF romance that proves good girls can have fun too...especially when she's their good girl.

O’Neal Lory has been taught that one mistake can undo an entire life of right decisions. That it doesn’t matter if a person has been good ninety-nine percent of the time. One misstep, one snap judgment, can derail everything. So, she’s taken a lot of right steps on the straight and narrow path. Eighteen years of them, in fact. Perfect grades. No rules broken. And definitely no boys.

Until she kisses him.

Auden Blake knows he shouldn’t touch his little sister’s best friend, knows that innocent girls like her should stay far, far away from him and his roommate Lennox—especially when she could reveal their behind-closed-doors activities to his family. But when sheltered O’Neal goes rogue, ditching her scholarship to a conservative all-girls college and showing up at Bennette State—his school—instead, it’s going to take everything Auden has to keep his and Lennox’s hands off the curious good girl whose teach me vibes could unravel them both.

Good Girl Fail is a full-length standalone MMF romance with lots of steam, two heroes who like to share and get a little bossy, and a good girl heroine who’s about to break every rule that’s ever been placed upon her.

Release Date: January 17, 2023

Roni Loren, LLC

Erotic Romance MMF

Review copy provided by author

Nikki’s Review:

SHE’S BACK, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! Listen, I love everything that Roni Loren writes, but getting back to her erotic romance roots is something to be celebrated, because this author is a goddamn unicorn.

Auden, Lennox, and O’Neal are bloody combustible on the page. The chemistry was off the charts. 

This story is all about finding your true self and what makes you feel safe and happy…on your own terms. It’s about building a life that brings you joy. 

I’m a sucker for a poly romance, but I need a great plot to keep me invested. I need to be able to connect with the characters and want them to succeed in finding their happily ever after. This book delivers on all of that. I read it in one sitting. And the bonus scene at the end was a nice treat!

I don’t want to go into too much detail of the plot. I think you need to go on that journey with Auden, Lennox, and O’Neal. Just know that you’re getting a very character driven story that will keep you turning the pages. Also…it’s SPICY! All the ingredients that make up an amazing romance! 

Rating: 4 Stars (A)